A recent Marquette University political poll has Governor Scott Walker, the Republican candidate, leading Mary Burke, the Democratic candidate 50-45 percent among likely voters. Likely voters are those registered voters who have voted in similar elections such as a mid-term election. Those who haven’t voted in the past are not counted even if they are registered to vote.

Now there are several ways that people can interpret this poll. My way of interpreting it is to say that YOU HAVE THE POWER to elect the next governor of the state of Wisconsin. It is Wisconsin’s communities of color that are going to decide this race.

Now you may be wondering what it is that I have been smoking when I say that, but please hear me out.What this poll tells me is that the Euro-American voters in this state are pretty much evenly divided between Walker and Burke with Walker having about a 5-8 percent advantage there and Burke having the edge when it comes to voters of color.

Now in terms of individuals who are eligible to vote but are not registered or aren’t considered to be likely to vote, people of color are over-represented in this category. So, in essence, what these polls suggest is that people of color are not going to register to vote in any significant numbers or if they are registered, are not going to vote in any significant numbers. And if those assumptions hold true, then Scott Walker — the governor who hasn’t created the number of jobs that he promised, decimated public sector unions, cut funding to public schools, reduced the number of people who receive Medicaid and squandered millions of dollars in economic development funds — will be reelected.

But Walker and his supporters are afraid of your vote because they have seen the power of it. In 2008 and 2012, it was the voters who weren’t likely to vote, voters of color, who made the difference in President Barack Obama carrying the state of Wisconsin in the presidential election. Voters of color turned out when pollsters and others thought they wouldn’t and placed Wisconsin in Barack’s column.

Republicans couldn’t believe that you had that much power and immediately started spreading lies that there was widespread voter fraud in areas like Milwaukee County with a large number of voters of color. They couldn’t believe that your power existed and then took measures to curtail your power, measures like the Voter ID bill, restrictions on extended voting hours and absentee balloting. They wanted to make you jump through all kinds of hoops to vote, just like the old days of segregation when the poll tax was used to keep African Americans away from the polls because they feared the power of the African American vote.

And while the Republicans have done all they can to diminish your power or preventing you from exercising your power, YOU STILL HAVE THE POWER, just like you did in 2008 and 2012 when you helped elect President Barack Obama. While they have made it more difficult to exercise your power, YOU HAVE THE POWER to WIN on November 4th.

There are some hoops that you will have to jump through to exercise your power. The Voter Id law will be in effect, so only a limited number of types of IDs will be accepted to show that you are eligible to vote. These IDs in clued official state driver’s licenses and IDs and U.S. passports. The full list of acceptable IDs can be found at http://www.cityofmadison.com/clerk/PhotoIDDetails.cfm.

Scott Walker and the Republicans have severely limited the use of the absentee ballot and took away weekend voting to try and rig voting in their favor. Burt you can still vote at your city hall Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. from October 20-31st. You can also have a paper absentee ballot mailed to you by completing a form and providing a photocopy of your valid ID.

So YOU STILL HAVE THE POWER to decide this election. If you show up to vote, you decide it for one candidate. If you don’t show up to vote, then a different candidate will win. The power to decide who will be the next governor of the state of Wisconsin is in your hands. Don’t let people make you think that you don’t have the power when they say your vote doesn’t count. Communities of color, you have the power to decide this election. If you don’t use your power, you lose your power.

There are people who are afraid that you will use the power. They are afraid of you exercising your right to vote. Vote and prove them wrong. Vote and decide the history of the state of Wisconsin. The POWER is in YOUR HANDS!